Italy on brink of qualification after Bulgaria win

Defending champions Italy took a huge step towards qualifying for next year’s World Cup with a competent 2-0 Group Eight victory over Bulgaria here on Wednesday.

Italy lead Ireland by four points with two games remaining and need only a draw in Dublin or a win at home to Cyprus next month to ensure they top the group.

Juventus pair Fabio Grosso and Vincenzo Iaquinta, among seven team-mates who started for Italy, scored the goals that ended a run of four games without a single Italian player notching a goal.

Both goals came from neat interplay as Italy mesmerised their visitors with quick, slick one-touch passing.

On 11 minutes left-back Grosso played the ball inside to Andrea Pirlo who dinked a clever return pass over the static away defence with Grosso catching his shot on the half-volley and seeing it crash down and in off the bar.

Iaquinta should have doubled the lead just three minutes later after the overlapping Gianluca Zambrotta teed him up in the area but the Juventus striker failed to hit the target from 12 yards.

Bulgaria did not pose a serious threat until the 18th minute when Stanislav Manolev crossed for Dimitar Rangelov to dump a header into Gianluigi Buffon’s arms.

Bulgaria had plenty of the ball but their passing in the final third was poor.

Even so, they almost fashioned an equaliser from a corner on 26 minutes as Chavdar Yankov found Stilyan Petrov at the near post but Buffon clawed the Aston Villa man’s flick off the line.

Up the other end Daniele De Rossi hooked a Pirlo free-kick just wide before Petrov then hammered another shot inches past the post.

Iaqunita was Italy’s most dangerous forward and he headed a Pirlo free-kick over on the half hour mark.

But the big Juve forward did get the second goal five minutes before the break after a sweeping team move.

Pirlo and Alberto Gilardino combined with Iaquinta to put the Juve man clean through and his shot squirmed over Dimitar Ivankov and in.

Bulgaria came out with more purpose in the second half and had the best chance of the opening exchanges when Buffon had to parry substitute Blagoy Georgiev’s free-kick away for a corner.

Berbatov, who was far from his best, blasted a volley over the bar and Giorgiev clipped a free-kick just past the angle of post and bar.